The nutrient needs of dairy heifers change with age and size as they approach maturity with feed intake increasing and diet nutrient concentrations decreasing (Table 1). This is due to changes in growth with heifers having a higher rate of protein growth prior to breeding with slower protein growth as they approach mature body weight. […]
A greenhouse gas is any gas in the atmosphere capable of absorbing heat from the sun and stopping it from radiating back into space. Many greenhouse gases occur naturally in our environment at low concentrations. However, human activity is increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, thereby trapping, and storing, additional heat and […]
English | Spanish El tiempo caliente puede traer una larga lista de problemas para las productoras lecheras. Cuando las vacas están sobrecalentadas, se comen menos, producen menos leche, tienen función inmune reducida y recuento de células somáticas levantado y muestran fertilidad reducida. Un aumento en vacas cojeras frecuentemente sigue la temporada de calor. En olas […]
English | Spanish A medida que aumentan las temperaturas de verano, las vacas lecheras corren un mayor riesgo de sufrir el sobrecalentar. Las vacas sobrecalentadas sufren de una ingesta reducida de pienso seco, lo que lleva a una producción de leche reducida. Los agricultores también pueden ver una reducción de la fertilidad o la pérdida […]
Below is a visual representation of what to enter in the report screen to generate charts similar to what is shown in the companion factsheet: “Using Bovisync Reports to Assess Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy”. Milk Production Butterfat Percent Reproduction Milk Quality Clinical Mastitis and Transition Cow Health Download Article
How Can You Find the Tell-Tale Signs of Heat Stress in Your Records? Here are a few of the key areas to watch for: Reduced milk production. Butterfat depression. Declines in reproductive performance. Increases in clinical and sub-clinical mastitis. Increased morbidity in transition cows. Following are examples of the resulting data you can use to […]
Want to learn about the latest research on calf housing? Two heads are better than one: A starter guide to pairing dairy calves This series of articles is a seven-part starter guide for pairing or group-housing pre-weaned dairy calves. Throughout this guide, we cover best practices to promote good health and welfare in calves raised […]
Hot summer weather can be hard on feed ingredients and total mixed rations (TMRs). It is vital that feed quality and aerobic stability be maintained during this challenging season. Doing so will minimize nutrient losses while optimizing cow intakes which are often compromised due to heat stress challenges.
Dairy producers often struggle to quantify the impact of heat stress on their operations. The ability to use dairy management records to identify seasonal trends is critical to assess potential heat stress related losses. Diving into a dairy’s herd management software can help a producer quantify where the losses are occurring and, with some easy calculations, determine the profitability of investing in cow cooling measures.
Heat stress not only affects the productive ability of your cattle but also their ability to conceive and sustain a pregnancy. It is important to understand the effect heat stress can have on reproduction and how you can help minimize the effect.